Not that losing Sanders by itself is that big a blow, but I'm about ready to just treat these next couple seasons as throwaways. Suffer through a couple sub-.500 seasons, get rid of bad contracts, get back in good shape in terms of the cap, and accumulate draft picks. The bad thing about this is wasting a couple years of Roethlisberger's prime, but I'm not sure the Steelers could be Superbowl contenders next year no matter what they do.

IanMoran wrote:Odds are strong that Sanders > random 3rd round pick. That being said, you have to take third if you figure you'll lose him next year anyways

I agree. You gotta take that pick. Plus, the Steelers have had some luck getting receivers later (Wallace, Brown, Sanders), so not matching New England is a no-brainer IMO.

I was thinking about this the other day...is Casey Hampton still around? I cant remember if they cut him, or if he is an UFA, or still around. The fact that I dont know this shows how far the Steelers have fallen in teams that I care about.

The one thing they have going for them is the potential to finally have a decent OL, so maybe he won't take as much of a pounding now. Even if he doesn't last, though, there's not much that can be done with this team. Too many holes, not enough draft successes, and too many bad long-term contracts leaving too much dead money against the cap.

Supposedly Ben is lobbying for them to keep Sanders. We all know this will go one of 2 ways:

1. The Steelers leave him go. Ben pouts (nothing new) and Sanders magically finds his hands in NE.2. The Steelers keep him to placate Ben. He continues to madden everyone with frequent injuries and drops.

So as someone who isnt a Steelers fan... are you guys OK with going into the season with brown, pled and crotchery as your top 3 guys. I know could always draft a rookie but that top 3 seems a bit concerning to me.

skullman80 wrote:So as someone who isnt a Steelers fan... are you guys OK with going into the season with brown, pled and crotchery as your top 3 guys. I know could always draft a rookie but that top 3 seems a bit concerning to me.

I'm not, but the Steelers have decided to let their young players walk while bringing back everyone they can who is over 30 and has some connection to either the Steelers or Western PA.

skullman80 wrote:So as someone who isnt a Steelers fan... are you guys OK with going into the season with brown, pled and crotchery as your top 3 guys. I know could always draft a rookie but that top 3 seems a bit concerning to me.

I'm not, but the Steelers have decided to let their young players walk while bringing back everyone they can who is over 30 and has some connection to either the Steelers or Western PA.

Yeah, this is pretty concerning... the future is not looking particularly bright.

skullman80 wrote:So as someone who isnt a Steelers fan... are you guys OK with going into the season with brown, pled and crotchery as your top 3 guys. I know could always draft a rookie but that top 3 seems a bit concerning to me.

I'm not, but the Steelers have decided to let their young players walk while bringing back everyone they can who is over 30 and has some connection to either the Steelers or Western PA.

Yeah, this is pretty concerning... the future is not looking particularly bright.

Don't worry, they'll draft players from PA and fix the problem.

The cap problems should abate by next season, but the lack of talent is a problem.

Way too many holes to fill and they haven't necessarily been drafting great... so I'm expecting at least a couple down years. Hopefully either Ben has not been permanently hobbled or they have drafted a replacement by the time they get their act together (if it happens... having some doubts about this group now that the long time veterans are fading out).

I'm not generally a doom and gloom guy, but I really don't like the way this team is headed... in a couple seasons, they have gone from an embarrassment of riches at WR to an embarrassment. No starting RB. Let one of their top CBs go w/o even making an offer while re-signing a terrible one. And so on down the line... Makes me a sad panda even thinking about it... We've been kind of spoiled for awhile by this team.

the wicked child wrote:I'm not generally a doom and gloom guy, but I really don't like the way this team is headed... in a couple seasons, they have gone from an embarrassment of riches at WR to an embarrassment. No starting RB. Let one of their top CBs go w/o even making an offer while re-signing a terrible one. And so on down the line... Makes me a sad panda even thinking about it... We've been kind of spoiled for awhile by this team.

this is exactly how I feel. I am not to happy about having a franchise QB in his prime and because the Rooney's are the Rooney's they got him no help and actually made the team worse then last year.